


Surprise in the Woods

by GaymerOnMain



Category: Mumintroll | Moomins Series - Tove Jansson
Genre: Accidental Voyeurism, F/M, M/M, Multi, Outdoor Sex, TFW you stumble across your ex and his best friend doing it in the woods, We’ve all been there am I right lads?, and you’re very embarrassed at first, but then you end up finding it weirdly appealing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-11
Updated: 2021-01-11
Packaged: 2021-03-15 11:48:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,634
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28688151
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GaymerOnMain/pseuds/GaymerOnMain
Summary: Snorkmaiden stumbles across a terribly intimate scene late at night in the middle of the woods, and she has many conflicting feelings about it.
Relationships: Background Mumintrollet | Moomintroll/Snusmumriken | Snufkin, Mumintrollet | Moomintroll & Snorkfröken | The Snork Maiden
Kudos: 27





	Surprise in the Woods

**Author's Note:**

> I have no idea what relationship tags to put on this story… If there’s any relationship tags you think should be added or removed, please let me know.
> 
> This one actually doesn’t really have all that much smut in it? It’s mainly happening in the background. Hopefully a Mature rating is fine for that. But of course, it still deals with a Very Adult Subject Matter, so if you’re uncomfortable with that, please turn away now. Thanks, and I hope everyone else enjoys it.

It was a lovely, cool spring night, deep in the woodlands of Moominvalley. A dark, vivid blue was cast over everything in sight, and each bough and bush and patch of grass were only illuminated by the gentle glow of the stars above. Well, that and the little lantern that Snorkmaiden held in her paw. It only gave off only a tiny amount of light, but it was enough for her to see where she was walking, at least.

The comforting grip of sleep just hadn’t been able to take hold of Snorkmaiden that evening, and so she had decided that a little stroll in the nearby forest was needed, just to get some fresh air and perhaps tire herself out a bit. It was, admittedly, a little unusual for her to randomly go exploring in the middle of the forest… but she was doing quite a lot of things differently lately.

So far, this little stroll was proving to be exactly what she needed. She found herself appreciating the little details of nature that she had never paid much mind to before, and she felt rejuvenated as she breathed in the fresh, crisp forest air. She could hear the sweet little chirps of birds flitting to and fro somewhere in the distance, and she smiled at the thought that perhaps _they_ were having trouble sleeping as well.

She really felt quite at peace, listening to the birds’ lovely little sounds… until she heard a distinctly not-bird sound in the distance. It was a brief, distant, quiet little noise, but it definitely caught her attention. She strained her ears a little, trying to figure out what the noise was, when she heard it again – markedly distinctive against the peaceful tones of nighttime. As she tentatively continued her journey along the overgrown forest trail, she found herself drawing closer to the source of the mysterious sounds, which were growing clearer and clearer with each step…

She stopped in her tracks completely when one particularly distinct sound cut through the quiet like a knife – a deep, fervent groan, still a little distant but certainly quite blatant. Her ears perked up as she immediately realised what it was.

 _Oh my, how naughty!_ Snorkmaiden thought to herself with a grin. _A couple of young lovers, having some fun in the forest… Good for them!_

She quickly resumed her stroll with the satisfaction of a mystery solved, but as much as she was ready to move on from her cheeky little discovery, she found herself feeling distracted. The sounds just kept coming, trickling between the trees like a faint fog, emphatic and endearing and… strangely _familiar._

Right as that thought passed through Snorkmaiden’s mind, she came across a rather large opening in the thick bushes adorning the forest trail. With an inexplicable curiosity, she stepped forward and peeked through the opening – she didn’t know why, it was as if something had compelled her to.

When she saw the two people who were on the other side, nestled between the slopes of a hilly flower field, she almost died on the spot.

She yelped – she couldn’t help it – then quickly covered her mouth and hid behind the bushes, putting out her lantern and hoping that they hadn’t noticed her.

“What was that?” she heard one of them ask, and she stiffened anxiously at the question.

“Probably just a woodland critter,” she heard the other nonchalantly reply.

That was that, and Snorkmaiden let out a huge sigh of relief.

She was sure that her mind had turned to utter static after such a terrible shock. She had to take a peek through a much smaller gap in the bushes, just to be sure that she wasn’t imagining things.

She definitely wasn’t imagining things. It was definitely Moomintroll making those sounds that were oh-so-familiar to her. And it was definitely Snufkin lying there with him, in a state of semi-undress that showed parts of him that Snorkmaiden very much could have gone her whole life without seeing. Their paws were definitely wandering much too sensually to just be innocent, and they were definitely entangled in each other in a way that would make even a Mymble blush.

…How long had _this_ been going on?! A cold spike of anxiety bristled through Snorkmaiden’s chest, but she quickly managed to reassure herself and settle down. Moomintroll may have been a dreadful boyfriend at times, but Snorkmaiden was sure that he wouldn’t have stooped to the level of being fully unfaithful to her. This was probably a recent development. Surely.

But goodness, she didn’t know that Moomintroll and Snufkin were… Well, she had always kind of suspected it, to be honest. But she was under the impression that the two of them would just keep dancing around each other for the rest of their lives. She was shocked to see them not only acting on those feelings they probably shared, but in such an intimate way! So blatantly, so boldly, so… openly! She was sure that her eyes were about to burst out of her head from shock, and that her face looked more akin to a tomato than anything else right then. She had never felt more embarrassed in her life.

…And yet for some reason, she couldn’t look away.

Maybe it was morbid curiosity, a strange desire to see what exactly Snufkin had that she didn’t. She knew that was an awfully petty thing to think, but she couldn’t deny that there was a small part of her that still felt a little bit jealous of Snufkin. Just a little bit. She was working on it.

Maybe it was a less morbid curiosity, a bittersweet desire to see Moomintroll be happy, even if it was without her. She knew that Moomintroll was never entirely happy while the two of them were together romantically, and she was inclined to feel the same way herself. They had lots of fun together, sure, but the romance almost always felt forced, and that extended to their more intimate moments as well. Maybe she wanted to see Moomintroll navigate such an encounter in a way that wasn’t forced.

Or maybe it was just the lovely, gentle noises Moomintroll was making. She would be lying if she said she didn’t still think Moomintroll was quite a good-looking fellow. And with the way he looked right then – his face flushed and his chest heaving – it was definitely a sight that was hard to look away from. He let out a soft moan of “Ohhh, Snufkin…” and Snorkmaiden flushed terribly at the sound.

Oh, this was weird. This was very, very weird.

Snorkmaiden was sure that anyone in their right mind would have swiftly turned the other way upon discovering such a terribly intimate scene. She was sure that the very least she could do in this situation was give the boys some privacy. It was the right thing to do, surely.

Her brain and her heart were in a vicious battle, but as much as she had vowed to start following her brain more often in recent times… her heart was definitely winning right then. It was beating hard and fast as she cautiously watched on, the throbbing running all the way to her ears and making her feel a little light-headed. Perhaps that was why she was acting so ridiculously, she reasoned. It was surely all the blood running to her head.

And so, she stayed, and continued to watch with a tentative curiosity. It was certainly quite a romantic scene she had stumbled across – two dear companions, intertwined under the stars, quiet and serene save for the gentle whooshes of the spring breeze and the sensual sounds of an intimate love… Why hadn’t Moomintroll done anything like this for _her_ while they were together?

But then again, the two companions in question were moving at a terribly slow pace, and Snorkmaiden was sure that she would be bored out of her mind if someone went that slowly with her. They seemed to be enjoying it, though… quite a lot, if their reactions were anything to go by. Snorkmaiden didn’t even know that Moomintroll liked it particularly slow. How many other things had she never learned about him? She had never taken particularly strong notice of such details before, in how caught-up she had always been in approaching these situations passively – just as she was _supposed_ to.

Snufkin didn’t seem to have those same reservations, though. His paw caressed up and around to the back of Moomintroll’s head and scratched gently behind the ear, making Moomintroll shiver against him. He had already figured out the ear thing that Moomintroll liked, one of the very few details that Snorkmaiden actually _had_ managed to discover for herself. She wondered how long it had taken Snufkin to take notice of that. Surely longer than it had taken her… right?

Regardless, it was dreadfully clear to Snorkmaiden that this was definitely something the two of them had done before. She could tell by the way they were moving, the little ways they were touching each other – there was a familiarity to their movements, none of the awkwardness of trying to figure out what the other liked and didn’t like.

How often would they do this together? Where else would they do it? How had this intimacy between them even developed in the first place?

As these questions lingered in the back of her mind, her imagination went to strange, fascinating places. As she watched their fuzzy and smooth fingers interlace, she could just imagine those paws’ first tentative touches, shy and restrained. As she watched them lean in close and rub their noses together, she could just imagine those first nervous nuzzles, just the lightest of brushes at first. And as she watched them groan and call for each other, she could just imagine their first night together, their cries hushed and unsure, their hearts conflicted but passionate.

Snorkmaiden had suddenly become utterly awash with all sorts of wonderings, terribly personal wonderings that she felt deeply embarrassed to be thinking about.

What was even more embarrassing, though, was how warm and tingly these wonderings were making her feel.

As disturbing as it was to admit, there was just something strangely thrilling about her ex-lover, the Moomin she had assumed was the love of her life for so many years, succumbing to such intimate indulgences… with his best friend, of all people. It was scandalous, _exciting_ – and goodness, had Snorkmaiden craved excitement in her time with Moomintroll. The irony of her only getting that excitement _after_ they separated was not lost on her, but she was far too entranced to ponder it any further.

The two companions were very close now, their noses mere millimetres apart and their eyes fixated solely on each other. Snufkin muttered something that seemed to be a question, but was too quiet for Snorkmaiden to hear properly. Whatever the question was, Moomintroll was quick to respond to it, with an eager pleading of, “Please, please, _please…!”_

 _Talk about desperate,_ Snorkmaiden couldn’t help but think, a little mean despite her wide-eyed excitement. She supposed that he was _always_ like that when it came to Snufkin…

Round and pointy noses momentarily pressed together in a quick little kiss, before the pair’s movements began to gradually grow faster and faster. It was still a little slow by Snorkmaiden’s standards, but certainly much faster than it was before, and Moomintroll definitely seemed to be appreciating that, letting out a torrid cry of, “Oh, _Snufkin,_ yes!”

Hearing Moomintroll say his best friend’s name in such a way… was certainly making Snorkmaiden feel something. Something complex, a jab deep in her gut that was hauntingly cold and intensely hot at the same time, somehow.

…She still couldn’t get over just how _openly,_ how _blatantly_ they were doing this, but still being secretive about it at the same time. They were surely hoping that they wouldn’t be disturbed, deep in the woods at such a late hour. And yet, there seemed to be little to no effort to mask their presence.

Well, that was the case for Moomintroll, at least. Snufkin, on the other hand, was being much more quiet and reserved, which was to be expected, Snorkmaiden supposed. But that wasn’t to say that he was completely silent, or stoic. Little grunts and subtle movements would creep through his cool exterior every now and then, and it was sort of interesting to witness. Snorkmaiden had never seen him even remotely disheveled before – he always seemed to keep his cool no matter what, or at least, that was how she saw it.

Honestly, Snorkmaiden had never entirely understood what Moomintroll saw in Snufkin. He was a nice fellow, of course, and she considered him to be a good friend… but he was very distant and frigid. Certainly not a good match for Moomintroll’s emotional clinginess. Snorkmaiden had seen for herself just how miserable Moomintroll would be whenever the free-spirited vagabond would just up and leave without so much as a goodbye. She just couldn’t understand the appeal. Of course, to _yearn_ and _pine_ for someone was quite a romantic idea, one that Snorkmaiden had daydreamed of plenty a time in her youth… but in reality, it could be a bit _lonely,_ couldn’t it?

Then again, considering what the two boys were doing, perhaps the _yearning_ wasn’t exactly as big a factor in all of this anymore.

Either way, Snorkmaiden still found it hard to understand why Moomintroll had always been so obsessed with such a frightfully aloof fellow.

…Looking a little closer at said fellow, however, one couldn’t help but take notice of some things. The rise and fall of his chest, the moonlight bouncing off of his unkempt hair, and a slight flush running across his somewhat sun-kissed skin… He actually looked quite good like this. Perhaps she understood the appeal a little bit, even if just from a physical standpoint. Not that looks were the sole aspect one should look for in a companion… but they certainly helped.

Those looks weren’t exactly helping with Snorkmaiden’s embarrassing concoction of emotions, though. That, along with Moomintroll’s handsome face and impassioned reactions – not to mention _everything else_ about this situation – had her feeling ridiculously flustered.

And when one becomes so unbearably flustered, so overheated beneath their fur and all their blood running south, their mind tends to gravitate towards one particular method of relief. Well, that’s how it was for Snorkmaiden, at least. A tremendous urge was pulling at her, a compulsion to do what she always did during lonely nights, or lazy afternoons, or while overwhelmed with fantasies of a romantic sensuality beyond compare...

Just a little wouldn’t hurt, surely…

 _No!_ Snorkmaiden thought self-critically, swatting her southward-wandering paw away with her other paw. She wasn’t going to pleasure herself to the sight of two of her best friends making love. Surely she had more dignity than _that,_ even as her breath grew short and her gut burned with a hedonistic passion.

She needed to get out of there, before her heart completely took over and made her do something she would certainly regret.

But of course, escaping from such all-consuming desires could never be so easy. Even as she fully turned away from that enticing opening in the bushes, the _sounds_ still trickled through the gaps and rang in her ears, even the softest of whimpers proving to be relentless and deafening.

The cries of Moomintroll’s voice were getting louder, so familiar but so much more intense than she had ever heard from him before. It was unbearably tempting, as if each noise were piercing into her resolve, chipping away at her little by little. Soon enough, much more quickly than she would like to admit, she gave in, and allowed her heart to be victorious yet again. Just one little peek…

She turned around just in time to catch a glimpse of a wondrously disheveled Moomintroll, groaning and shaking and very flushed, his face buried into Snufkin’s chest. The sight certainly sent a shock straight through her heart, and somewhere much lower, as well.

Soon after, Snufkin followed suit. Little more than a muffled groan managed to escape from his closed mouth, but his scrunched-up, terribly flushed face and lightly trembling limbs gave away the intensity beneath his composed exterior. _That_ sight had a few stray little aftershocks tingling through those same well-traveled routes.

All was quiet for a long few moments after that, a peaceful silence only broken by the ever-present sounds of nature – birds chirping sleeplessly in the distance and that gentle whooshing of the cool spring breeze. The two companions’ chests heaved with weariness, slowly retrieving their lost breath. Moomintroll drowsily mumbled something or other, and the two of them shared a sweet little laugh as they held each other close, panting terribly.

Snorkmaiden stepped forward slightly to try and get a better look, as if she were in a daze, her heart pulling her along. That daze was quickly broken, though, as she felt – and _heard_ – a big twig snap underneath her foot.

She froze at the sound, quickly looking out at the flower field and praying to every conceivable being that they hadn’t heard it. Sure enough, they had heard it.

“Oh, that better not be Little My, I swear…” Moomintroll grumbled, the unease seeping from his voice. “I _knew_ we should have just gone in the tent.”

“I’m sure she would have made her presence known by now,” Snufkin calmly reassured. And then, he got up off of the ground, and began making his way over to what he must have assumed was the source of the noise. The light crunches of the flowers beneath his feet got louder and louder as he got closer and closer.

Okay, it was definitely time to go.

Snorkmaiden quickly grabbed her lantern, turned, and made a run for it, dashing as quickly as her short legs would let her. Her heart raced a mile a minute as she scurried off into the night, unconcerned with the dirt sullying her fur or the wind tousling her fringe, a wild energy overtaking her as she focused on just getting as far away as possible.

She didn’t know how long she ran for, but after what she felt was a sufficiently long amount of time, she slowed down to a stop. She cautiously glanced around her, just to be sure that she had completely gotten away, huffing and puffing as she tried to regain her breath after such a sudden outburst of exertion. Once she was absolutely certain that the coast was clear, she turned her lantern on and tried to make out her surroundings. The trees had become more scarce around her, and the familiar hills that surrounded her house had come into view in the distance. She wasn’t far from the edge of the forest, and therefore, wasn’t far from home either. Relieved that she hadn’t gotten herself lost in her hastiness to escape, she sighed contentedly and began to walk at a much more leisurely pace towards the forest’s edge.

Now that she had slowed down considerably, the dirt spattered on her feet and legs was starting to feel uncomfortable. She frowned, brushing her messy fringe with her paw in an attempt to straighten it up a little. She was going to have to take a bath when she got home. But really, that was okay – she had a feeling that she wasn’t going to be able to go back to sleep that night anyway. Not after… everything.

This slow, leisurely walk gave Snorkmaiden a lot of time to think about the _everything_ in question. She couldn’t help but wonder what the two boys were doing right then. Had they gone back to laying together, peaceful and satisfied? Had they decided to watch the stars together? …Would there be a round two? No, probably not that last one – Moomintroll didn’t have that kind of stamina in him, she knew all too well.

She hoped that she hadn’t disrupted their peaceful afterglow too badly… They had looked so content, and she felt a little bad for ruining the moment with her clumsy twig snapping… but she supposed that that wasn’t the _worst_ thing she had done that night.

All at once, she was hit with the gravity of what she had witnessed. She had uncovered something truly personal, and quite shocking… but not necessarily as unexpected as it probably should have been. She could only _imagine_ the sorts of rumours that would circulate throughout the valley if word of this little encounter got out. Such tittle-tattle could spread like a wildfire amongst creatures who didn’t have much else to do with their lives. Normally, Snorkmaiden loved a good, more healthy amount of this sort of gossiping… but she certainly didn’t like the thought of her friends having such a deeply personal part of themselves – a part they clearly wanted to keep private – be thrust out into public scrutiny. Even if a small part of her still felt a little uneasy, even a tiny bit _resentful,_ about everything she had uncovered… she still wanted the two of them to be happy. She cared for them both very deeply, after all.

She felt as if she had a very sacred piece of knowledge in her grasp, and she had to protect it as much as possible. Even if it would be very, very tempting to tease the two of them about it. She would hold it in, for their sake.

Yes, it would just have to be her dirty secret… Well, until she inevitably gets legless at a party, loses her filter, and all hell breaks loose. But until then, it’d be her dirty secret!

**Author's Note:**

> I tried to make pretty much everything about Moom and Snuf’s Encounter ambiguous – who’s giving and who’s receiving, what private parts they have, etc… so you can interpret all of that however you like. :D
> 
> The last thing you need when you’re in such an intimate, vulnerable situation is your ex-girlfriend hiding in the bushes and judging your every move, but that’s a reality that Moomintroll has to live with. (Even if he doesn’t know it 😏)
> 
> Sorry for making Snorkmaiden a bit of a cuck, lol
> 
> EDIT: On that note, please enjoy this stupid meme I made based on this fic:  
> 


End file.
